National Science Foundation Will Continue to Call Ballston Home, For Now

The National Science Foundation is keeping its headquarters in Ballston for the next five years after a search for alternate, less expensive locations in the Washington area.

The General Services Administration is allowing the NSF to continue operating out of its headquarters at 4121 and 4201 Wilson Blvd., according to the Washington Business Journal.

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., has worked on keeping the NSF in Arlington and said Monday that work will continue.

“I am pleased that NSF’s lease at its current location has been extended,” Moran said in a statement to Patch. “Now we turn our attention to achieving long-term certainty for this important federal research agency. NSF is a cornerstone of the Ballston ‘science corridor,’ also home to DARPA, (the Office of Naval Research), and Virginia Tech's cutting edge research facility, and situated within three miles of 80 percent of NSF’s employees.

“I look forward to continue working with GSA, NSF and Arlington County to bring this process to a successful conclusion.”

Tina Leone, CEO of the Ballston Business Improvment District, said the decision will help Ballston maintain the synergy it has between research institutons, private companies that have located nearby and startups — keeping with Ballston's reputation as a place "where minds meet."

"Of course, we're very pleased to hear that," Leone said. "It's good to have more time to work to keep them in Ballston for a much longer period of time."

About eight sites in Northern Virginia, including one in Reston and two Alexandria properties — the Hoffman Center and Carlyle Plaza — were thought to be in the running for the new location. The GSA was seeking a 15-year lease on 668,000 square feet of office space within a half-mile of a Metro station.

The GSA, which manages most real estate deals for the federal government, is still reviewing offers submitted earlier this year for a 15-year lease, according to the Business Journal.

Competition for the NSF has been heated. The administration is under pressure to find cheaper space for the agency, which has an annual budget of $7 billion and approves about 11,000 requests for funding each year. It has about 2,400 employees.

The GSA is working under a cap of $38 per square foot of office space — which has complicated keeping the Ballston location, where the average rent far exceeds that cap. The area is the second-most expensive submarket in Arlington County to do business. Meanwhile, locations in nearby Alexandria or along the planned Silver Line, like Reston, fall below the rent cap.

Moran has said that when the the Food and Drug Administration began consolidating its facilities in recent years, it was "understood" that if Maryland got the FDA, then Northern Virginia would get to keep the NSF. He specifically cited conversations with U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

The deadline for the NSF to move into its new home — or decide to stay put — has been delayed multiple times.

More:

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Updated: Two Alexandria Properties in Play for National Science Foundation

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Moran Continues Fight to Keep NSF in Arlington

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